Yes, you read that correctly. If you want to learn how to market and sell yourself and your business, don't spend thousands of dollars on professional sales training; just log onto Match.com and read some of the most ingenious and somewhat humoroussales and marketing material on the Internet today.

The Internet has revolutionized the world from business to online dating. It has forced us to look at our message and the way we market and sell ourselves to connect with potential partners. The folks at Match.com, fully (and brilliantly) taking advantage of this global shift to e-marketing and sales, have structured their site to become one of the Internet's most popular online dating services for those looking for a lifetime partner (or in some cases, a nighttime partner, but we won't go there in this article). For now, let's focus on the online dater that is looking for a potential lifetime partner.

The first step in online dating is to create a profile. The profile exists for three reasons: attract potential lifetime partners, persuade the best matches to make contact and weed out those who would be incompatible with your “ideal match”. In order to make that special, all-important, first connection with a potential partner, an online dater must make sure that only the most pertinent information is portrayed in his or her profile. If all goes as planned, this portrayal of their personality will differentiate them from the long list of dating competitors on Match.com and lead them to the right connection.

Everything on their profiles has a purpose from the personal pictures they post, to a list of their likes and dislikes, to the things they like to do when out on a date. It's all about achieving the ultimate goal of finding a match by marketing and selling themselves in the best light possible.

One of my favorite sections of the profile is “Body Type”. A majority of the profiles describe themselves as “slender” or “athletic”.
(If the profiles on Match.com were indicative of America as a whole, you'd think we were a nation of models, athletes and body builders!). Then, there are those that decided to be honest with potential partners who put themselves in the “overweight” category. The clever marketers on Match.com, however, do not describe themselves as “overweight”. They stay true to the marketing and selling of themselves by declaring “a few extra pounds”. Brilliant sales and marketing! (As well as a more accurate depiction of America as a whole!)

The content on your website should provide a clear and concise message to persuade that potential lifetime client that your business can help solve their problems. Like Match.com, your goal is to demonstrate that your business is potentially the right match for that prospective client. Your website content also exists to persuade the wrong customers to hit the back button and choose someone else from a list of business competitors. From overall design, to images, to content and message, everything on your website should have a purpose for being there to market and sell your business!

Take a good look at how you are selling and marketing yourself and your business through your website. Are you attracting the right visitors and connecting with potential lifetime clients? If not, maybe you should ask yourself if you're marketing and selling your business as “overweight” or as having “a few extra pounds.” Like on Match.com, it could mean the difference between scaring away or attracting the perfect life partner!